I'm sorry but no, most of those shots looked horrible, washed out, noisy and low resolution

Thanks for sharing and keeping people informed on sponsorship. I think you made the right decision.

If you're going to call out the companies that are involved in shady practices, I think that you should call out and not protect the creators profiting from said practices.

This is a messed up situation indeed and not the first time we see this from the big brands.
 I´ve worked with insta in the past, and on the latest X4 and despite how much i love the X4 and the GO 3, this is not okey.
Fortunately there are good people working at insta360 which goes by the book, and of course people that don´t.
And this is a worldwide marketing issue with all brands, not only insta. I´ve never been asked to hide my sponsorships, nor delete or change parts of the video unless i got the technical facts or typos wrong by speed. So i can only go by my experience working with them which has been professional. But im really glad you´ve pointed this out Jeven, so they can clean up, fix it and get on a professional level with all creators, not just a handful.

I bought an Insta360 Go 2 based on "reviews" and immediately after getting it I found that it wasn't nearly as good as the reviews showed. Slow file transfers, bad image quality, a lot of features didn't work like they were supposed to. I'm super cautious of reviews now.

Thanks for this. It popped into my feed along with a couple of very similar ones. Needs to be said. I’m not a creator, just a guy with a new motorcycle, a CB500X, and I’m just interested in getting Insta360footage both for the memories and the license plates. I don’t think there’s an alternative for a 360 view, is there? Second question: the smaller channels that do more honest (unsponsored) reviews on 360, especially related to motorcycles - does anyone know any specific ones? I’m looking for YT channels that may have reviewed or used the Insta360 X4 is what I’m saying, and I’d appreciate any good suggestions. fFinal question: is there a better place to buy this camera than amazon (for any reason)?

My insta 360 X3 stopped working and they said I need to send it to Hong Kong to get it repaired on my own cost and do tons of paperwork for customs! Last product for me from them! You want to make a business here and take our money? Open a service center around or at least manage the shipment yourselves! Else it is just a poor product for hundreds of bucks!

I had the impression that this happened with the DJI Osmo 3 Pocket. A LOT of photography creators suddenly had one in their hands right on launch, casually mentioning how good it was. Same with Shimoda bags.

Good work! I respect you for this step!

Great tutorial. Thanks for all the info.

Excellent video, thank you. For me the 'Subject Scanning' switch in Controls is greyed out. What makes it available? Big fan, btw - thank you for a clear and relevant tutorials.

not disclosing a sponsorship is a federal crime btw

Really shame behavior from insta360. I am glad to see you're an honest content creator as well, as some others I follow on here. Not all the big name on UKposts are unfortunately. Also, I am only a modest small content creator and so far, I never been sponsored in all the reviews I've done, and always bought those products with my own money to share my passion for tech, while providing an honest review for my audience. I was actually ready to buy the new X4, and do a review with it compared to my "old" X2 I have from Insta360, but after watching @iPhonedo and your video, I think I am going to skip on this one.

😂not paying over a $1K for those things!! DJI ha!

As a viewer, if a creator gets a product for free and isn’t sponsored. I view it the same way. I know you creators don’t see it the same way because you’re not getting money, but it is what it is for the viewer.

Yeah, we made one video and walked away for a similar reason and this was a while ago. They weren't "happy" with our honesty 😅

I live in south OC any issues with birds attacking drone???

compatible with a quadlock case?

Can I have your X4?

All the so called “creators” are playing innocent after one massive creator exposed the whole thing. You all should have come clean long time ago. Don’t act like all of a sudden this happen recently from one day to the next. I was a long supporter of your channel but I have to think clearly before unsubscribing to your channel. Very disappointed.

As an often gaming centric channel this is weird for me to hear about because Ive even had some gaming some companies contract me to specially be clear about soonsorships. They have rules like every 30 minutes you have to disclose your stream is sponsored by ___, you have to have a chat bot posting the same message, and you have to have it on the top section of your description. I thought being very specifically clear on sponsorship was very common knowledge for creators, plus how is that not common sense to do? To me its wildly disingenuous to cover this fact up from viewers.

Hey man, I think everything you said is spot on! One thing I will say that could slightly sound like I’m slightly defending Insta is that sometimes it isn’t the entire marketing department or company that’s making a decision like what they did with not disclosing sponsorships. Sometimes it’s one person making their own unilateral decision thinking that they’re doing something good when it’s a terrible idea. I’m not saying that this happened here, but I am saying it does happen and then the rest of the company is stuck to try to clean up the mess that they were put into. to me, the best thing Insta could do would be to make a video saying exactly what you said here. That would be taking some responsibility and clearing up any misunderstandings for the future. That in my book would be a win-win.

this comment is not sponsored by insta360. now time for our non-sponsor... 🤷‍♂️ pcbway surfshark nord atlas vpn! but on a serious note, they have bad reviews on trustpilot and there's a discussion on insta360's subreddit with the subject line "I don’t know if this has been posted yet..." where insta360 is shown to give content creators incentives if they make revuews with nothing bad to say about their product. this is like trying to manipulate a democratic election by stuffing the ballot box full of positive reviews on the same day an embargo gets released and why it is offputting as a viewer seeing content creators flood your feed with the exact same product... from ipads to dji drones to whatever else gets released. this gets annoying and eventually feels disingenuous because it all happens at once. there is no time to place an order and wait for it to arrive. no. boom. it gets released. boom. here are 100 influencers "reviewing" it the same day with positive things to say. they get it for free and the video implies "now you go and buy it for hundreds of dollars right now!"

@JevenDovey Nice!!!

We purchased X3 after watching HYPE marketing Very disappointed in the image quality. Sent them image mounted on tripod that used the highest possible settings and is still low resolution They said, it's normal. We won't purchase another insta360 product. Thank you for your honesty. Have always enjoyed your channel ❤

Good idea to separate yourself from Insta360 as soon as the crap hits the fan. A little convenient from all parties involved. The idea that they would’ve continued asking creators to remove tags if you all hadn’t brought it to light is hypothetical, but nonetheless it’s all kind of shady.

I saw something like this coming since the Ace Pro's launch. Suddenly, all sposored videos and "reviews" had similar titles, stating that this was the GoPro killer. I never thought it was that much of a great camera, bar its low light abilities, but everybody was joining the band wagon. Suddenly, GoPros and DJIs were rubish. Clearly a marketing move.

Your reputation stands, my friend.

Very informative video! 👍

your color grade, is going to sell some drugs in the middle of Mexican desert vibes. Sponsers might need to pull this vid for over doing cg on talking head.

Getting a free product and being totally honest about it, and the review is pointing out issues. That basically ends getting a product from that company going forward. So how many times do you really get an honest review?????????

100% Most of my wines reviews are from free samples. While I don't put any kind of text stating this, I try to make sure I've included some kind of disclaimer at the beginning. The difference here is that I've never been asked to send my video to a PR firm or winery ahead of time. I may have done it once or twice because I wanted to, but I've never had to change anything. I've also disclosed if I've gotten any other kind of freebie, like meals or lodging, or free admission to events, etc. And if I've paid for a wine, I also specifically say that I paid for it. Now, as far as others in my world I'd say that not everyone is explicit either way. I don't know if the wines were sent to them, or if they paid for them, or both for specific videos. Some creators are good at disclosing and others not so much. Especially trips. While I'm still waiting for my first press junket (after 15 years of doing this), I see others that are clearly on a free trip (who've been at this way less than I) and never mention a word. Maybe it's because I'm too honest so no-one asks me, or some other reason, but I'm fine with that. My channel isn't my livelihood. It's a shame that Insta360 got caught up in this kind of thing. I've planned on buying one of their cameras for a few years as it would be a great way to film vineyard or winery content. Especially B-roll. And maybe I'll eventually save up the money to buy one. They seem to be the best option for a 360 camera that isn't massively expensive.

Thank you!!!!

Everyone knows when a new camera have been released that those first videos are all sponsored videos so no truthful at all. Great that you explain this.

haha I went through exactly same stuff a couple of years ago(which means many biased reviews have been out there until now). Whoever comes to this channel and iPhonedo and starts commenting with “I’m wonder~, it’s strange~, they’ve never~”, there are higher ‘chance’ they follow the guide or instruction. To confirm, check if they release related videos whether the ‘review’ contains critical cons that any normal users can figure out after a couple of usage of product. If you don’t mention any major issues, they don’t know how to use the product or they are just a sales person. Plus, if there are comparison videos released similar time through multiple channels and saying A is better than B with nonsense reasons, you’ve found the shill.

I'm very glad you made this video. Its very important to say this is sponsored. We get it, its a 'glorified commercial', but we want to see that. But we like to know there is a line between what a sponsored video is and what your honest opinion is because its your honest opinion what gives you and your channel any credibility. What it sounds like is Insta360 is trying to hack your credibility for their benefit. They don't care as long as it sells product. But if they get what they want, then there wont be any credible reviewers out there. It would all be Corporate Brainwash. So again, thank you for making this video. It very very important to keep on top of these matters or the whole trust thing falls apart.

Thank you for making this video!

In the Auto Record on Takeoff does the Avata stop and save the recording on landing?

Thanks for posting. I saw iPhonedo video and it completely made sense. I have the x3 and it's okay, you can get some interesting angles for sure. The reviews for the x4 were over the top but the footage they were shower wasn't really matching their descriptions. There are a few creators I've lots a bit of trust in for sure.

You take a good position. Covert commercials are a plague, epecially among smaller channels.

How many other have hit that trail only to be eaten by a bear or mountain cat?

Let's be honest...if your doing a product review on launch day of any product. There is a 99.9999% chance the product is sponsored. That being said, appreciate you bringing the issue to light. In 2024, companies should know they need to be honest in any promotional material they release (people talk and news travels very fast in 2024). That being said, let's be honest Insta360 is a China owned company and their interests are not with creators. Like you said...just do the right thing!

I'm a 15 years-old and i have the mini 3. I have been flying it and i really enjoyed it because of its compatibility . Do you thing i should upgrade?

Lost a lot of respect for them. Their products are unique but also not as amazing as their marketing makes it seem. Their customer service leaves much to be desires. As do their apps. But worst of all is them sneaking sponsorships around. Now I pretty much only watch the UKpostsrs that openly come out clean because there are a bunch that clearly were saying only positives while being secretly sponsored

Crazy. They make a good 360 camera.

Great rant. I saw this blow up after iPhoneDo's video. Too bad Insta360 did this as it's ruined their reputation. Their products are absolutely amazing, but for the first time it will no longer be a "given" that I buy theirs first and ignore everyone else. I think anyone posting review videos of their products for the foreseeable future are going to get blasted for doing so. That's a shame.

Interesting video. I've been seeing others state the same fact that they are trying to bolster reviews through sponsored content. While my channel is small, I always had the desire to make it so that I didn't work with the companies I was reviewing products for and I guess I'll add insta360 to that list. I'm definitely thinking of getting an X4 but I'd be very angry if I couldn't say what I wanted about it.

i am buying a DJI mini 4 pro, the avata is a lil bit ‘spensy.

Thank you Jeven for putting this out there.

And their return policy is non-existent… They stick.